Guestie! It's Me! At Through the Craft Room Door

A while backskies I had the great honor of winning a challenge at Through The Craft Room Door, an online magazine that I like to peruse from time-to-time. When they asked me to be a guestie, of course I said "Of COURSE!".

I got to play around with a digi stamp from Imagine That digi stamps called I Wheely Like You. It got my pun-loving heart a-beating.

Here's what I designed: 

I'm going to play along over at Shopping our Stash where the theme is something for teen or adult boys. Since I rarely go masculine, I had fun with this! Plus, everything I used is from my scrap pile, so I'm still patting myself on the back for that.

Thanks for popping by and I hope you'll hop on over to Through the Craft Room Door to see what their very talented design team made!

A Tale of Two Coffee Cards - Vintage vs. Modern

Last night I buckled down in my craft room and had a coffee card making FRENZY. Ok, ok, I really only made two cards, but I knocked them out so quickly that I'm going to stick with the frenzy.

It just seemed like whatever stamp I pulled out spoke to me and said "oooo la la" (they were apparently French) "this is exactly what you should do with me". I probably should have stayed and crafted more but my craft studio is still at my old house until the craft studio at my new place gets finished. And it's scary crafting all alone in the dark in a big empty house!

Anywho - you're here for the cards, and not my blabbering - RIGHT?!

My first design is nothing but a study in vintage frillery (it's a word if I say it is). STAMPlorations just released a card for all of you tea lovers out there called Always Tea Time and it's so luscious! I decided to try out a no-line watercoloring technique. 

I stamped the image using Tattered Rose Distress Ink and then smudged the Tattered Rose and Vintage Photo DIs onto my craft mat and used them to watercolor. I love how this turned out - all antiquey and gorgeous. 

I piled on some of my grandma's vintage lace, along with some Martha Stewart Crafts metal corners. 
My card was really inspired by this lovely card from Tracey McNeely over at Muse Challenge:

I know some of you might be scratching your heads thinking - huh? Hers is so Clean and Simple, how could it possibly be inspired by that. The truth is, I rarely do CAS anything... but I was so inspired by the watercoloring and the soft pinks and greens. I saw Tracey's card and just fell in LOVE! <3  And this is what happened when I tried to duplicate something similar haha!! I started with a simple watercolored image, but then I kept adding layers and layers because... my stupid brain.


I'm also sending this one over to play along with Vintage Stamping Challenges - Lots of Layers 

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And NOW for something completely different. Last Coffee Lover's Blog Hop I won an adorable set called I LOVE Coffee from Uniko Studio. 

I also saw this funky cool, bright image from The Challenge this week:

I loved the bright colors mixed with the black and white. Those bold pink blooms just stole my heart.

I stamped the coffee mug and then just decided to start doodling. I used a Micron pen to make a sketchy frame and then started writing coffee over and over again in a scrawling script. 

BLAM! This is what happened! I colored the stamp using one of my brightest pink Spectrum Noir Markers (BP5) and did the same for the sentiment. Then I outlined both stamped things using my black pen. 

A little bit more doodling, a couple of strips of washi tape and I was set! 

Woot!

I'm also sending this one over to Simon Says Stamp - Food or Drink challenge

Last, but not least, these are both going over to the Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. 

 

Thanks for popping by, my friends! :) Wishing you the best Tuesday you ever had! 

 PSsssst - if you like the Always Tea Time set, It's currently on sale up at the STAMPlorations shop for 15% off using code SPRINGCLBH - in fact, EVERYTHING in the store is 15% off with that code. 

A Little Coffee Love Card

Today I am sleepy and not even my pumpkin spice latte is waking me up! I'm going on 3 weeks of bronchitis and the rumble in my chest is still a' rumblin'. Sigh* 

But I do have an adorable coffee card for you all today! 

I wanted to make a card for my boyfriend, just to say I love you. He's pretty much the sweetest guy ever because he wakes up at 2 a.m. every day for his job and on the days when he's home from work before I get out of bed, he'll make me a cuppa java to go. :) A great way to wake up! 

So I thought this sentiment was very fitting for him! 

Lots of hearts, but he'll get over it. hehe. 
Stamp sets I used here are Big Grins by Becca Cruger: Literary Caffeinations & Sketchy Coffee Cups. Both sets are currently 15% off up in the STAMPlorations shop with coupon code SPRINGCLBH.

I made this card, of course, for the Spring Coffee Lover's blog hop. 

I'm also sending this over to:
Corrosive Challenge Blog - Anything Goes
Crafty Friends - Anything Goes

Thanks for popping by and happy hopping!

Coffee Lover's Blog Hop - Day 1 - Woooooo

It's my most favoritest time of the year! The time when the ever-so-talented Amy and her amazing crew conduct a hop to end all hops. With coffee! 

In honor of the Spring Coffee Lover's Blog Hop, I designed a new set for STAMPlorations that's loaded with funny coffee sayings and great springtime images!

For my first creation, I designed a little packet for a coffee-loving friend of mine. I was shopping at a local boutique that sells handmade goods and found this amazing coffee soap from Sunny Soaps by Niska & Zoelle.  These two young entrepreneurs (they are 8 & 11 respectively) make the soaps in their home and are strong forces for philanthropic good in Grand Forks. 

On the inside of the pullout pocket, I stamped a snarky little sentiment and then I plopped the coffee soap in the polka-dotted package from Pebbles. 
This card was made for the Double D Challenge - Easter! 

Here's what the full Bunnies & Beans stamp set looks like: 

There's sentiments for all sorts of occasions - birthday, Easter, just because. :) 

My second card was specifically made with the Card Concept in mind. They have an inspiration image all full of luscious pinks and I couldn't help but to play along. I made a card in the design of Clean and Layered. (I think?). I also used the sketch from Sketchy Colors: 

Bunnies & Beans isn't the only set being released up at the STAMPlorations blog! There's also another set called Always Tea Time, designed by the uber talented Shery Russ! 

So elegant!

GIVEAWAY ALERT: 

Want to win Bunnies & Beans OR Tea Time? 

There's two ways to enter! 

I'm giving away two sets of Bunnies and Beans right here on this blog - leave me a comment to enter and let me know if you're international or U.S.-based. I'm drawing one winner for each! 

Alternatively, hop on over to the STAMPlorations blog, where they are giving away BOTH Bunnies & Beans and the Tea Time set.

Don't miss out! 

 PSSSSTTTT: Did you know there's a super secret (not really, but it makes it sound cooler) sale going on at STAMPlorations?! 

You can get 15% off everything in the ENTIRE SHOP! Just use code SPRINGCLBH now through the end of the hop!

I've Moved!

I've moved! 

No, no, no... I'm not changing blogs - but I bought a house! Huzzah! 

So, if you're wondering why the sudden radio (or I guess web) silence from me, it's because I'm busy packing and hauling and moving. Oh - and constructing! My new house is in the process of getting its very own craft workshop! See:

 

Buying all the stuff to create my new craft workshop - it took a line up of 4 people!! 

 

 My brother-in-law, working on a custom-built 10foot x 5foot craft table. And the first painting casualty! My foot and pants! 

The color of my new room - it's called Relax (I thought that was a good paint color name for a craft room).

I'll be back with complete pictures of the craft room redo when it's all put together. Until then, I hope you'll understand my lack of commenting and my infrequent posting. Cheers! 

P.S. If you need to update my address in your address books, send me a message at bexcruger AT gmail.com 

RAWR!! - A Dinosaur Card

RAWR! I'm feeling a little wild today - at least wild about this card! And I've got an awesome technique tutorial showing you how to add a little texture to your cards. 

I decided to go with lots of texture for this card due to 3 primary reasons - 
Numero Uno - STAMPlorations's new challenge is up and it's stamps and texture OR use this sketch: 

Numero Dos: Simon Says Stamp wants us to get Touchy Feely and get all textural for their Wednesday challenge. 

Numero Tres: My gal, Jenn Shurkus, had an awesome tutorial up on her blog with some cool ways to add texture to your backgrounds, and so I did a little bit of a riff on that idea. She's always inspiring me with great things, so if you haven't checked out her blog you totally should.

But back to the tutorial! 

Here's the easy rundown 

(in a handy-dandy very Pinnable *wink *wink graphic):

1. Add some texture paste to a background. I left some areas thicker than others to add more dimension. 

2. I used the Tribal Triangles ARTplorations stencil, spritzed it with water (so it didn't stick to the texture paste) and then pressed it into the texture paste. Then I heat dried.  

3. Spritz with your fav Distress Spray Stains. I did some sprays farther away to make a mist, and some sprays close up so that it dripped and concentrated color. Then I heat dried. 

4. I replaced the stencil into the areas I'd already pressed it into and chose some random triangles to highlight with Blank Canvas white acrylic paint. 

5. I shouted VOILA! and admired my  handiwork. 

After I made the background, I wasn't quite sure how to finish it off, and then I thought about the T-Rex from my Big Grins by Becca Cruger Dino Things stamp set and had another voila! moment. 

He's PERFECT for this grungy backround! I stamped a sentiment from the same set, colored him in, gave him googly eyes, and ended it all by laughing. 

Love it! :) 

I'm also going to send this guy over to play along in: 
Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes Birthday
Crafty Gals Corner - All about the Boys 

Don't forget to go play along at STAMPlorations! Make sure you check out what the rest of the designers made and spark your inspiration engines! 

Thanks for popping by! 

Quick and SImple Thank You Cards

I'm up on the STAMPlorations blog today giving a quick and simple tutorial for when you have to make a lot of Thank You cards at one time.

The cards turned out really elegant, so I hope you'll stop by! :)

Mixed Media Card Challenge - Trees

It is officially the end of winter!! Welp, meteorological winter anyhow... I wish Mother Nature would get on board because yesterday it was -18 degrees here in North Dakota. Sigh*

But at least I can pretend everything is green and delightful, right?! If I can't grow trees and green things in my back yard, at least I can color them on a card! Wooo! 

That's because over at the Mixed Media Card Challenge our theme o' the month is TREES with the option of birds. 

I started out thinking I'd make this a bright, happy summery card... and you may have noticed that didn't work out so well for me. 

It's still bright and happy, mind you, but as soon as I scribbled on some Gelatos, I thought it looked more like night time than a summery day. And so, a plan was born! 

In addition to the Mixed Media Card Challenge, I wanted to play along with Ms. Darnell-the-Fantastic's NBUS (Never-Been-Used-Schtuff) challenge. 

I have used these adorable houses from Shirley Bampton's Bee's Knees - Houses stamp set before, but I'd purchased the accessory pack with cute trees and mailboxes and roads and they've just been sitting about unused for months! Thanks for the impetus, Darnell!

Once I'd blended the gelatos with my fingers, I used the Big Bang Sci-Fi Screening (stencil) from Winnie and Walter along with a baby wipe to pick up some of the gelatos.  

When I was satisfied, I repositioned the stencil and added some texture paste to give my night sky some texture. I also changed the house color to be more purpley because I wasn't totally in love with how the pink was meshing with my colors.

Then I added some finishing touches - graphic washi tape and a stripey chipboard sentiment - which makes it perfect for the Allsorts challenge of "Sentiment in Focus".

Et voila! This little number is going to go to a friend who is buying a house tomorrow. Awww! :)